Screen printing apparatus



Feb. 6, 1951 v H. R. FARWELL 2,540,326

SCREEN PRINTING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 8, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Feb. 6, 1951 H. R. FARWELL 2,540,326

SCREEN PRINTING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 8, 1948 3 Sheets- Sheet 2 MENTOR.[[a Iggy ifwaaZZ/rwdi 6, 1951 H. R. FARWELL 2,540,326

SCREEN PRINTING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 8, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5gINVENTOR.

15 W V/ fiarzgwfiediarwefl, 142 2/ m 'r Patented Feb. 6, 1951 I z'jme IsoRE'EN'PRiNTmdAPPARAT S" rats lilis eil miivn; Q'vi'iiic'y', ni;

Amman I This inventioii'relat'es to ascreenprinting aidparatus, and,more particularly, to a screen printing apparatus'in which a screenfi'rinting frame unit having plvlrali tyof characters" thereon is sodisposed that it may be readily utilizecl'ti) print individuallyselectedcha'racters on 'a; desired object. I.

Such a' device'is'p'afticularly' useful where itis desired teprint'a'large'nymber'of objects, each with difierent copy; The'silkscre'en'methedeff printing has not been Sldhlitedtdthis ty e Of'wicilkin the past hecauseof'th necessity of precarin'g a separate screen fore'ach'obje'ct"tobefprintedj Because of this factfitha's 'cfteneenmsieeedg nornical to"d o such lettriii'gbi" printing memes by brush,since the cost of preparing" a'sep'ara't stencil fer each type Of'signhasheeh 'prehibitiVe Nevertheless, it' would be highly aqvan a'gbqs tobe able to utilize the silk screen typ of'p I 1: ing in werk suchassi'gnprinti'ng since the'nn ished product has many: desirable marines;as uniformity of characters:long lifeandtlie like? Applicant has alreadyinventedone forni'ofa device designed to perinit' the use of silkprinting for thistyp'e omen:- This'fo rn iis' dis} clesed in abplicantsce-pending"ap blication Serial No. 701,649, f led Octobe r'fl, 124 whichtured into Patent Noi. 2,532,802, Dc ei1n] c er 111.950."v The inventionwhich is the subject matter of th'is application however is believedto'heaisnps'tantial improvement thereoyer, a'ncl inore reaglilylends'itself to being adapted to almost completely automatic operation. I II kI I Although the embodiment of the intention felisclosed in the drawingsis designed for mannal Q- elaiidn, i a 'flie lr en w th? .d i-qe couldbe made at'leastsemkai toinatic jwith very little modification, andabplicanflclces not wish to be limited in this disclosure to'onlithe'rnah uallybperated form shown. I II It is therefore an'objeclt oithi'sjinventionito provide a screen printing ap'parat is ntilizlingjarotatable silkscreen printing frame having a m.-

alitv o i bi fii re niw PIQK means of quickly'and accurate y'printingselectegl ha ter i dWRhi H fin.iih ;'nf ei Qt x alignnient on an'objectproperlydisposed' thereon to conform to 'anyciesired cc15y. I I

It is a furtherebject of this inventionto'pro? vide a screen printingapparatus which has a movable printing base adaptecllto slipport an oo'J'ect to be printed, which base 'aiitemat" any moves the distancerequiregl'to jai'odiicethefpreiief spacing between indiifi'd ial'characters after each such character is printed.

r3 8,1943, Serial No. 1,199

(cum-L126) H n is aii'additid' ial object of this invention to provide ascreen printing" apparatus which unnzes a substantially circular screenprinting" frame which 'is normally" disposed in spaced relation to"afp'rinting base'andwhichhas'a'plnrality of characters thereon, andwhich includes means for moving'the portionof the screen cntainihg'aolesired'character 'intb contact with the object te be printed disposedon the 'p'rintin'gloasefso'thatany desired ccmbinati'on'of' charactersmay reatiilif be printea on thatob'ject. I I II 4 I It is still anotherobject' topro'vide a" screen printing apparatus in which the screenprinting frame may be easili ah'd qiiickly' rerncved fo i' cleaning:orreb1aceinent I; 'v/hich has an improved and simplified e'scabmentmechanism which allows 'alljspaciiig between individual character's t6be 'prodiiced' automatically and which maybe easily adjustec'lfofldifiei'ent spacing as ds'irel; which is simple inconstruction "and operation, which may be pi ddi' 'ced' at a lrelatively1 w best; which forms each character in a uniform and accurate manner;and which can produce 'a veliune of piihtdfobjtseth wimmee em copy, at afraction of'the cost of printingthm' manually with a' brush orwitli'typel I I I r a urther' bjectsanaadvantages ofthis inveneon 'willbecome eyidem as the description pro ceeds, and frqfii'a'n'eliaininationof theiac'co rn' pahy'i ng dia'wii lgswhich' illiistrate' oneembodiment'of the inveflt ioii and in which similarniimeifa'ls' l'fei to'sifn'ilai arts th lbil ghout the Selferal Views." I

Inth drawings? I Fig. l is a perspective View of a screen "printmg'a'pamtus embcd'ying the iniieht'ion; I Fig; 2'is "a' fraginentary sideeleiiation'; partly iii'cioss" section, "showing the movable: printing"base; the rctatable silkscreen printing immune the printing mechanism. I3 is a plan view f om-above of the ap aratusw'ith thelSlcfeei'ipliltgdliii g frame ren'ibVe-ii.

Fig; 4 is'a' fragme tary side elevation shewing the escai ement mechnism;

Fig. 5 is airagmentaryfside elevation, partlyin cross section'showingthe control ine'hanismfoi releasingith'e'escapement' mechanism; r M

Fig. 6 isa rfagniem'ai'y detaifview in elevation and partly ir'fcrbs's'sectitihiof the squee ee guide, the screen 'pHntingt-r'ame and themovable piinting" base, the guide and semen being shown inpr'i'ntingpositioh. I

Fi g.' '7 is affra'iifieiitaiy erspective vie'wbf the sqiiegegmag" I I II I I I rectangular supporting base It] which may be adapted to beplaced on a supporting table, or may be of any suitable table-likeconstruction itself. This supporting base has the track I2 thereonextending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the base andprojecting beyond one end of the base a distance suiTicient to allow themovable printing base I4 to be moved laterally in that direction so thatit is clear of the rotatable silk screen frame indicated generally bythe numeral IS. The track I2 has the two grooves I8 in the upper surfacethereof along the two upper edges of the track. The rollers 21 securedto the printing base It at its four corners are adapted to ride in thesetwo grooves l8 and to allow the printing base to be moved laterallyalong the track I2.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the circular silk screen frame i6 ismounted to rotate about the pin 22 which is, in turn, supported by themounting block 26. The outer rim 32 of the frame I6 is also supported bythe three rollers 26, 28 and 30, which are mounted on the mountingblocks 34, 36 and 38, respectively. The outer rim 32 serves as a supportfor the silk screen All which, in turn, has the hub :22 mounted at thecenter thereof. The silk screen ill has a plurality of characters 44disposed thereon in spaced relation having their vertical axescoincidental with radii of the frame It. These characters may be lettersdisposed thereon in alphabetical order and punctuation marks, or thelike. The silk making up the screen 40 is treated with a suitablecompound so that it is impervious to the passage of liquid such as theusual printing mediums used in silk screen work, except in the areasdefined by the characters M. The screen 40, in addition, is drawn tautlyacross the rim 32, but is sufficiently flexible so that a portion of itmay be depressed sufficiently to come into contact with an objectproperly placed on the movable printing base I4, such as the sign 46shown in Fig. 2.

Adjacent the inner edge of the outer rim 32 of the screen printing frame16 is the upstanding circular notched flange 38. The notches arecentered on the vertical axes of the characters 44 and are adapted toreceive the aligning member 52 which protrudes from one end of the guidemember 54. The flange-portions 55 which are disposed between notches 59have their upper extremities rounded 01? and are so shaped that thenotches 48 become progressively narrower toward their base, the basesbeing of a width suincient to allow the aligning member 52 to fit snuglytherein.

The guide member 5 which is shown in more detail in Figures 6 and 7, ispivotally mounted on the support 58, mounting plates 60 being slotted sothat the guide member 5a may be adjusted to any desired heights withinthe limits of the slots. The control member 62 is secured to the rear ofthe guide member 54 and projects beyond the supporting member 58 and hasthe spring member 64 secured to the end which so projects beyond thesupporting member 58. The other end of the spring member 6 5 is securedto the base of the supporting member 58, as best shown in Fig. 4. Thisarrangement insures that the guide member E l is normally maintained inspaced relation to the silk screen frame I6 but the guide member may bemoved into contact with the screen lll by depressing the forward end 66of the control member 62. As shown in Fig. 6, such a depression of thecontrol member 62 will cause the guide member 54 to distort a portion ofthe 4 screen 40 sufficiently for the screen to be moved into contactwith the sign 48 on the printing base I I.

The movement of the guide member Ed in an upward direction is limited byother members which are operatively connected to it, which members willsubsequently be described.

At the same time the guide member 54 is so depressed the aligning member52 must enter into one of the notches 59 in the flange and when it hasso entered into one of these notches, the character 44 which has itsvertical axis aligned with that particular notch is automaticallycentered in the opening 68 in the guide member 5i.

As shown in Fig. 2, the squeegee 70 is pivotally mounted on the arm l2which is, in turn, pivotal- 1y mounted on one end of the arm M, theopposite end of the latter arm being pivotally secured to the supportmember 58. The arms 74 and 72 are so disposed and the adjustable wingnut 86 on the bolt 82, which extends horizontally from the support 58through the arm 14, is normally so adjusted that the tip 76 of thesqueegee will rest in the well 18 of the guide member 5 1 when thesqueegee it! is moved to its rearmost position.

The rear end of the guide member 54 has the arm 84 secured thereto andextending downwardly toward the supporting base Ili, as best shown inFig. 4. The lower end of the arm as is pivotally secured to one end ofthe arm 36 extending substantially parallel with the supporting base Iiland the opposite end of this latter arm is pivotally secured to one endof the arm 88 which is, in turn, mounted to pivot on and parallel to thesupporting base It] around the pivot member 90. The opposite end of thearm 88 is pivotally secured to one end of the arm 92, the opposite endof which is pivotally secured to the arm as. The opposite end of the arm94 is rigidly mounted on the vertical arm of the L-shaped support member96 which carries the stop members 98 and I538. The support member 96 ispivotally mounted to one end of the arm I82 which, as shown in Fig. 5,is pivotally mounted on the support member I34. The arm I82 normallyrests on the fixed arm I86 which extends upwardly from the supportingbase It but is adapted to be raised therefrom by a depression of thefront end of the control member I08 which is pivoted on the support IIBmounted on the supporting base it, and which has pivotally secured toits inner end the arm H2 which is, in turn, pivotally secured to the armI02.

As described above, the spring member 54 normally urges the end 66 ofthe arm 62 in an upward direction and the tension of the spring can beadjusted by varying the screw eye in or out of the arm 62, which eye isbest shown in Figures 2 and 4.

The stop member 98 is pivotally mounted on the horizontal arm of theL-shaped support member 96 and has one end of the spring member II4secured thereto, the other end of the spring member being secured to thesame arm of the support member 56 in such a way that the stop member isnormally urged away from the vertical arm of this support member 96. Thestop member 98 is limited in its pivotal movement in the direction it isurged by the spring member ,I I4 by the stop member I I6 which is mouned on the base of the vertical arm of the L-shaped support member 96.The stop member $10, on the other hand, is rigidly mounted on thevertical arm of the L-shaped support member 96 in spaced relation to thepivoted stop member 93.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5:, the support member 98isnorm-ally-supported by the arms: I 0.2 and IE6 ata height whichallowsthe-stop members 98 and I68 to intercept the-lugs II'B-and I 20extending tangentially in opposite directions from diametricallyopposite points on the surface of the escape member I22.

However, the supporting member 96 is adapted to be pivoted about the endof the supporting arm IE2 by movement of a train of. arms 84:, 86, 88,92 and 94, which are, in turn, activatedby the control member$2-secured-to the guide mem-- ber 54. This pivotal movement: ofthesupport member 95 and which, in turn, -causes a like pivotal movementof the stop;.members 9B and I80 allows the escapemember I22 to rotate apredetermined amount between such pivotal movements. The escape memberI22 isnormally urged to rotate in a counterclockwise. directionasviewedin Fig. 1 bythe flexiblelines I23 and l24 which are wound on the reducedportion I26 thereof and which extend over the pulleys I28 and I36respectively which are mounted on the protruding end of the track I2.The weights I32 and l34 are secured to theendsof the two lines I 23 andI24 respectively, the weight I34 being substantially greater than theweight. I32. The line I36 is wound in a clockwise direction around thereduced portion I26of the'escape member I22 and the line I23 is wound ina counterclockwise direction thereon, asviewed in Fig. 1. In addition,the line I24. is secured to the underside of shown in Figures 2 and 3.arrangement the movable printing. base I4 is normally urged toward thepulleys I28 and IMF and the escapement member I22 is urged to revolve ina counterclockwise direction, asviewed in Fig. 1.

When the supporting member 96,.however, is at rest in its normalposition. (that is, when the outer end 66 of thecontrol'member 62 is inits uppermost position) oneof the lugs I I8 or I 20 is, intercepted by.the .stop member. 98, as vshown in Fig. 4. This prevents. theescapemember' I22 from rotating which,- in turn, .prevents1themovableprinting base I .4:from1moving.:-- However, when the outer endBSiofcthecontrol member 52 isv depressed the guidesmember 54 is pivoteddownwardly; which, in. turn, causes. the: lower end of the arm 84 tomove rearwardly toward thesupport member 58; this, in turn, .causesxthearm 86 to also move in that direction; this causes the left end of .thearm 88, as viewed in Fig. 1, to also move in that direction and sincethis arm is pivoted at 90, such a movementlof .the left end of the arm83 causes the right end of the arm 8M0 move in the opposite direction;this, in turn, causesthe arm ,92 to move toward the front end of thesupporting base II], as,;viewed-in Fig. 1, which movementof the arm 92causes thelower end of the arm 94 to pivot outwardly; this movement ofthe arm 94 causestheouterend of the supporting member 96 to pivotupwardly. This upward movement of the outer end ofthe sup- When theouter end of thecontrol member 62 6 which, in turn, causes the guidemember: 54 to pivot upwardly, the supportingmember 56' p'iv ots in theopposite direction, the movement be" ing transmitted through the arms84, 86, 8-8;-92 and 94 in substantially the same manner as -previouslydescribed, but in-the oppositedirection. This pivoting of the supportmember 96 causesthe stop member I to move out of registry withthe lug H3or I28, and since the stop member 98- has been pivoted away from thevertical arm of the support member 96 it'no longer is' in a position tointercept one of the lugs I I8 and I2 0, and the escape member I22 istherefore allowed to rotate until the lug opposite to that released bythe stop member 5% is intercepted by the sto'p member 98, the latterbeing pivoted toward the vertical arm of the support member SB'until-i-tassumes the same'position thatit originallyh'eldi before the initialmovement'of the-control member 82. The rotation of theescape' member I22, in turn, has allowed the movable printing base to move apredetermined distance towardthe projecting end of the track I2, whichdis'tanceis' that desired between characters." If the control member 62is subsequently depressed and released, the printing base I4 'will'againmove the same predetermined distance, and this movement will occur untilthe printing base: is moved out of association with the screen printingframe I6, or until the printing base abutsthe pulleys I28 and 538 If'itis desired to change the distance that the printing base is moves in onehalfrevolution of the escape member I22, this latter membermay be easilyand quickly replaced with one hav ing a difierent diameter at the pointwhere the-two flexible lines are woundthereon. If greatersp'acing isdesired, the escape member will have a larger diameter, whereassubstituting one: with a smaller diameter will reduce the'siz'e of thespacing.

If it is desired to'move the printingbase-14' other than by a depressionand release of the control member 62, the escape mechanism can bereleased-by a depression of-theouter end of the arm Edi which, in turn,causes the arm ill2 to be raised so that the stop members 38' and I 683*are no longer in a position 'to intercept the lugs H8 and i2l-on theescape member I22, as previously described.

In-actual operation the operator of the device first places the materialto be stenoiled, such as a sign or the like, on the movable printingbase I4. Any convenient method for holding the material to be printed onthis base maybeused, such as metal clips on the upper surface-of theprinting base, or by use of a vacuum or'elect'ro- I4 isthen moved to thecorrect starting-position.-

A smallquantity of slow drying silk screenprinting ink has been placedin the-well l8 in the guide member 54, and since the inkis highlyviscousit is normally held from flowing toward the opening 68 in the guidemember 54 by-the lower end of the squeegee it which normally rests onthe bottom of the well it near the opening 6&- when. not in use.

it is capable of being moved freely back andforth within the trough.With an ink supply so disposed in the guide member 54 and the object toAlthough the squeegee. fitssnugly in the trough I 36 in theguide member54,-

7.. be printed in proper alignment with the screen printing frame Hi,the operator may now rotate the screen l6 until the first desiredcharacter is substantially aligned with and directly below the guidemember 54. The control member 62 may then be pressed which, in turn,will cause the guide member 54 to pivot downwardly toward the screen 40and, as it does so, the aligning member 52 will enter into the notch ithe flange 48 which is aligned with the character previously selected,as described above. As the aligning member 52 moves into registry withthe base of this notch, the frame [6 will be automatically adjusted sothat the character selected is in registry with the opening 68 in theguide member 54. When the guide member 54 comes into contact with thescreen 40 and is subsequently further depressed, the portion of thescreen 40 immediately adjacent the guide member 54 will be distorted ina downward direction, as shown in Fig. 6. Since the screen 43 isnormally disposed only a relatively short distance above the object 46,such a downward distortion of the screen 40 will cause it to come intocontact with this object, as shown in Fig. 6. The guide member 54 andthe screen 40 will then be held in such a position through properpressure on the control member 62, and when so held the operator of theapparatus may lift the squeegee 18 from the guide member 54 and move itin a forward direction until it is between the opening 68 and thealigning member 52. The squeegee is then lowered until the tip 16thereof comes into contact with the base of the trough I36 immediatelyin front of the open ing 68. The squeegee may then be moved rearwardlyso that the tip 16 passes across the portion of the screen 46 exposedthrough the opening 88 and back to its original position in the well Hi.When the squeegee tip 16 is lifted from the well i8 as described, asmall amount of ink clings to it and a portion of this ink issubsequently forced through the screen 4!! according to theconfiguration of the character in that portion of the screen framed bythe opening 68.

It will be recalled that when the control member 62 is depressed thesupporting member 95 is pivoted in such a way that the lug previouslyintercepted by the stop member 98 is moved into contact with the stopmember 190. After the ink has been forced through the screen 40, asdescribed, the control member 62 is allowed to return to its originalposition, which, in turn, allows the lug on the escape member I22 toescape from the stop member H30, so that the movable printing base i4 isallowed to move one letter space so that the object being printed is inposition to receive the next character. This operation may be repeatedas often as is necessary to print the desired characters on the object46.

As previously mentioned, the normal height of the guide member 54 abovethe printing base l4 may be adjusted by shifting the plate 80 as desiredby loosening the wing nuts I38. At the same time the height of theprinting frame I6 may be adjusted by replacing the Washer 140 with awasher of a different thickness. The frame I6 may also be removed fromthe apparatus for cleaning or the like by'lifting it with its collar 42from the pivot 22.

As previously stated, at least some of the operations of the apparatusmay be rather readily made automatic, such as the required movement ofthe squeegee 10. It would be relatively easy to construct a device inwhich the movement of 8. the arm 12 and the squeegee could be made totake place automatically as soon as the control member 62 reached itslowest point. Such an arrangement would allow the operator to utilizehis right hand entirely for adjustments of the frame l6 whilesimultaneously operating the control member 62 with his left hand.Obviously it also would be possible to modify the device so that thecontrol member 62 could be operated with a foot pedal, and if themovement of the squeegee 10 were also automatic, then the operator wouldhave both hands free to make adjustments in the position of the frame 16or for any other desired activity.

In the drawing and specification, there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims.

I claim:

1. A screen printing apparatus comprising a supporting base, a movableprinting base adapted to support an object to be printed, a screenprinting frame unit rotatably supported at a plurality of points on theperiphery thereof substantially parallel to and in closely spacedrelation to said printing base, a plurality of characters on the screenof said frame unit, said screen being relatively flexible, guide meanspivotally mounted on said supporting base adapted to bring a, selectedportion of said screen into contact with an object supported by saidprinting base, means for automatically aligning said selected portion ofsaid screen with relation to said guide member and said movable printingbase as said guide member is operated to move said selected portion intocontact with said object, and means for causing a suitable printingmedium to be deposited on said object through said portion of saidscreen in the form of one of said characters.

2. In a screen printing apparatus having a substantially circular screenprinting frame unit rotatably supported at its periphery on a supportingbase in close association with a movable printing base, the combinationof a guide means pivotally mounted on said supporting base adapted to bemoved into abutment with selected portions of the screen in saidrotatable frame unit so that said portions are placed in any desiredorder on an object disposed on said movable printing base, a pluralityof characters disposed in spaced relation on said screen coincident withradii of said frame unit, said portions each containing one of saidcharacters and means activated by the movement of said guide meansadapted to move said printing base a predetermined distance in apredetermined direction so that said portions of said screen are placedon said object at spaced intervals.

3. A screen printing apparatus comprising a supporting base, a movableprinting base adapted to support an object to be printed, asubstantially circular screen printing frame unit rotatably supportedsubstantially parallel to and in closely spaced relation to saidprinting base, the screen in said frame unit being relatively flexibleand having a plurality of characters in spaced relation thereon disposedcoincident with radii of said frame unit, guide means pivotally mountedon said supporting base for selectively and individually distortingportions of said screen so that said portions are brought into contactwith an object supported by said printing base, each ofsaid portionshaving adesired character included therein, and means activated bythemovement of said guide means adapted to move said printing base apredetermined distance in a predetermined direction.

4. A screen printing apparatus comprisingv a supporting base, a printingbase movably disposed on said Supporting base, said printing base beingadapted to support an object to be printed, a substantially circularscreen printing frame unit rotatably supported substantially parallel toand in closely spaced relation to said printing base, a plurality ofcharacters on the screen of said frame unit, a guide means pivotallymounted on said supporting base adapted to distort a selected portion ofsaid screen so that said portion-is brought into contact with an. objectsupported by said printing base, means for automatically aligning saidselected portion of said screen with relation to said guide member. andsaid movable printing base as said guide member is operated to movesaid. selected. portion into contact with said object, and means forapplying a suitable printing medium to said object through said selectedportion of said screen in the form of one of said characters.

5. A screen printing apparatus comprising a supporting base, a printingbase movably disposed on said supporting base and adaptedto support anobject to be printed, a substantially circular screen printing frameunitrotatably supported in spaced relation to said printing base, the screenin said'frame unit being relatively flex ble and having a pluralityofcharacters in spaced relation thereon disposed coincident with radiiof said frame unit, means for. applying a suitable printing medium to anobject on said printing base through selected portions of said screen,said port ons each containing one of said characters, and a guide meansfor said applying means, said guide means being adapted to be movedagainst said selected portions of said; screen to move said portions ofsaid screen .individually into contact with said object, said guidemeans being pivotally mounted on said supporting base normally in spacedrelation to said frame unit.

6. A screen printing apparatus of the character described in claim 5,further com rising means adapted to normally urge said printing base tomove in one direction on said supporting base, means operativelyconnected to said guide means adapted to permit said printing base tomove a predetermined distance in said direction each time said guidemeans is moved against released from contact with said portions of saidscreen.

'7. A screen printing apparatus of the character described in claim 6,further characterized in that said means operatively connected to saidguide means comprises pair of spaced-stop members, a pivotally mountedsupport for said stop members, means for converting the movementof saidguide means into a pivotal movement of said support, and a rotatableescape memberadapted tobenormally held against rotation by one of saidstop members, flex ble means adapted to be wound on said escapementmember and secured to said printing base so that movement of saidsupporting base causes said escapement member to rotate, said pivotalmovement of said support for said stop members allowing said escapementmember to rotate a predetermined amount.

8. A screen printing apparatus comprising a supporting base, a printingbase movably disposed on said supporting base and being adapted tosupport an object to be printed, a substantially circular screenprinting frame unit rotatably supported in spaced relation to saidprinting base, a plurality of characters on the screen of said frameunit, a guide means pivotally mounted on-said supporting base, tensionmeans normally maintaining said guide means in spaced relation to. saidframe unit, a control member disposed on said guide means, said guidemeans being adapted to move a selected portion ofsaid screen intocontact with the object supported by said printing base when saidcontrol member is properly operated, means for applying a suitableprinting medium. to said object to said selected portion of said screenin the form of one of said characters, means adapted to urge saidprinting base to move in one direction on said supporting base andescapement means operatively connected to and activated by the movementof said guide means adapted to allow said printing base to move apredetermined distance in said direction when said guide means is somoved against and released from contact with said portion of saidscreen.

9.' In a screen printing apparatus of the character described having asupporting base, a printing base movably disposed on said supportingbase and adapted to support an object to be printed, and an escapementmechanism adapted to allow said printing base to move a predetermineddistance when activated, the combination of a substantially circularscreen printing frame unit rotatably supported in spaced relation tosaid printing base, a plurality of characters on the screen of saidframe unit, a guide means adapted to move a selected portion of saidscreen into contact with an object supported by said printing base,means for applying a suitable printing medium to said object throughsaid selected portion of said screen in the form of one ofsaidcharacters, means normally urging said printing base to move in onedirection on said supporting base and a pivotal connection between saidescapement mechanism and said guide means adapted to operate saidescapement mechanism so that when said guide means is operated to move aselected portion of said screen into contact with an object supported bysaid printing base,- said printing base is thereafter permitted to movea predeterm ned distance in the direction it is normally urged to move.

10. In a screen printing apparatus of the character described having asupporting base, a printing base movably disposed on said supportingbase and adapted to support an object to be printed, the combination ofa circular screen printing frame unit rotatably supported at a pluralityof' points on its periphery substantially parallel and in closely spacedrelation to said printing base, a plurality of characters on the screenof said frame unit, a guide means pivotally mounted on said supportingbase adapted to move'a selected portion of said screen including one ofsaid'characters' into contact with an object supported by said printingbase, a reservoir in said guide means adapted to hold a supply of asuitable printing medium, an opening in said reservoir adapted to exposethe character on said selected portion of said screen, and means forapplying said medium to said object through said opening and saidselected portion of said screen in the form of said character, said lastnamed means being pivotally mounted on said said reservoir in spacedrelation to said opening.

11. In a screen printing apparatus of the character described having asupporting base, a printing base movably disposed on said supportingbase and adapted to support an object to be printed, and an escapementmechanism adapted to allow said printing base to move a predetermineddistance when activated, the combination of a circular screen printingframe unit rotatably supported at a plurality of points on its peripherysubstantially parallel and in closely spaced relation to said printingbase, a plurality of characters on the screen of said frame unit, aguide means pivotally mounted on said supporting base adapted to move aselected portion of said screen including one of said characters intocontact with an object supported by said printing base, a reservoir insaid guide means adapted to hold a supply of a suitable printing medium,an opening in said reservoir adapted to expose the character on saidselected portion of said screen, and means normally urging said printingbase to move in one direction on said supporting base and connectingmeans between said escapement mechanism and said guide means adapted tocontrol said escapement mechanism so that when said guide means isoperated to move a selected portion of said screen into contact with anobject supported by said printing base, said printing base is thereafterpermitted to move a predetermined distance in the direction it isnormally urged to move.

12. In a screen printing apparatus of the character described having asupporting base, a printing base movably disposed on said supportingbase and adapted to support an object to be printed, and an escapementmechanism adapted to allow said printing base to move a predetermineddistance when activated, the combination of a circular screen printingframe unit rotatably supported at a plurality of points on its peripherysubstantially parallel and in closely spaced relation to said printingbase, a plurality of characters on the screen of said frame unit, aguide means pivotally mounted on said supporting base adapted to move aselected portion of said screen into contact with an object supported bysaid printing base, means for automatically aligning the selectedportion of said screen with relation to said guide member and saidmovable printing base as said guide member is operated to move saidselected portion into contact with said object, a reservoir in saidguide means adapted to hold a supply of a suitable printing medium, anopening in said reservoir adapted to expose the character on saidselected portion of said screen, and means normally urging said printingbase to move in one direction on said supporting base and connectingmeans between said escapement mechanism and said guide means adapted tocontrol said escapement mechanism so that when said guide means isoperated to move a selected portion of said screen into contact with anobject a mined distance in the direction it is normally 'urged to move.

13. In a screen printing apparatus having a sup-porting base, a movableprinting base movably disposed on said supporting base and adapted tosupport an object to be printed and a screen printing frame unit havinga plurality of characters thereon movably supported substantiallyparallel to and in closely spaced relation to said printing base, thecombination of a guide means pivotally mounted on said supporting baseadapted to move aselected portion of said screen including one of saidcharacters into contact with an object supported by said printing base,a reservoir in said guide means adapted to hold a Supply of a suitableprinting medium, an opening in said reservoir adapted to expose thecharacter on said selected portion of said screen, and means forapplying said medium to said object through said opening and saidselected portion of said screen in the form of said character, said lastnamed means being pivotally mounted on said supporting base and adaptedto normally rest in said reservoir in spaced relation to said opening.

14. A screen printing apparatus comprising a supporting base, a movableprinting base movably disposed on said supporting base and adapted tosupport an object to be printed, a circular screen printing frame unitrotatably supported in spaced relation to said printing base, aplurality of characters on the screen of said frame unit, a guide meansadapted to move a selected portion of said screen into contact with anobject supported by said printing base, means for applying a suitableprinting medium to said object through said selected portion of saidscreen in the form of one of said characters, means adapted to normallyurge said printing base to move in one direction on said supportingbase, a pivotally mounted dog support member, a dog rigidlysecuredthereto, a second dog pivotally mounted thereon, .a dog stopmember mounted on said support member, a resilient member normallyurging said second dog against dog stop memher, a rotatable escapementmember normally adapted to be intercepted by one of said dogs, :meansoperatively connecting said dog support member to said guide means sothat said dog support member is pivoted when said guide means is movedand a control member adapted to move said dog support member at will sothat said dogs are moved out of cooperative relation with said escapemember.

H. RUSSELL FARWELL.

REFERENCES CITED 7 The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 257,423 Williamson l May 2, 1-882465,905 Webb Dec. 29, 1891 2,369,6Q2 Petty et a1 Feb. 13, 1945

